Author’s Note: All characters within, except Fractal, her alternates, and her family, are property of Whateley Academy universe and the various authors who write there. You can read these stories, and various fanfics, at the following sites: http://www.crystalhall.org/, http://www.sapphireplace.com/, and http://bigclosetr.us/topshelf/node

Chapter 4

Fractal stretched as she walked down the hall. She was surprised at how quickly something new became uncomfortable. Back in her old world, airplanes were not something anybody used anymore. And, if those seats were as uncomfortable as those in this world, she could see why they wasn’t in use.

When Fractal exited the hall, she started to look around. She had been told that there would be somebody there to meet her and take her to Whateley. She was also looking for the baggage claim area. Steven and Samantha had told her how luggage sometime went missing. She did not want any of her new clothes to go missing. Especially if it meant another shopping trip with Samantha.

Once again, she gave praise to whoever invented the wraparound tinted eyewear she was wearing. They really cut down on all the stares and glares she was receiving before she remembered to put them on. Now, only members of the MCO glare at her. It was a little unnerving, but not unexpected. She only hoped she was in time to stop the wars from happening.

Once Fractal got to the baggage claim area, it didn’t take her long to find her luggage. For some reason, people seemed to want to be as far away from her luggage as possible and still remain close enough to claim their own. Maybe it was all the MCO security tape. Either way, it allowed her to collect her things, so she wasn’t complaining. She grabbed a luggage cart, stacked her bags on it, and went looking for her ride.

Once her luggage was secure, Fractal started walking toward the waiting area. She was sure whoever Whateley sent to pick her up would meet her there. She just hoped it would be soon. She really wanted to see if a young version of Greasy was there. If so, she couldn’t wait until she could start working on him.

There was a few people in the waiting area when she got there. Fractal just gave a mental shrug and took a seat not too close to anybody. A few minutes later, a tall Asian woman walked in and held up a piece of paper with Fractal’s name on it. Not her code name, but her real name, Michelle Molesly.

“Are you Michelle,” the woman asked when Fractal approached her.

“Yes,” Fractal said. “Are you my contact?”

“In a manner of speaking,” the woman said. “I’m Mrs. Shugenda. I’m to take you to Whateley.” She looked at Fractal’s luggage. “Is this all yours?”

Fractal blushed. “I’m afraid so. My family didn’t want me to leave without having plenty of clothes.”

Mrs. Shugenda gave a slight smile. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I’ve seen students with a lot more than that. Now, let’s get you loaded so we can get you to school. You’re arriving earlier than normal for our freshmen. I’m told you need extra time as there may be some complications to your enrollment. Knowing this school, I can imagine what some of them may be.”

Fractal nodded her agreement. But she wasn’t sure if any students had her set of complications. How many students came from an alternate universe anyway. “I didn’t kill anybody,” she said.

“Didn’t say you did,” smiled Mrs. Shugenda. “But it wouldn’t be the first time a newly manifested mutant killed somebody by accident when their powers developed. Now, you just follow me and we’ll have you at the campus in no time.”

Fractal followed the woman out of the airport and to a waiting van. She helped Mrs. Shugenda put her bags in the van, and got in. “It will be a few minutes until we arrive at Whateley,” Fractal was told.

Fractal nodded her reply and settled back to look at the scenery. It was both the same and different from what she remembered. For one, the buildings were still standing. In her world, most of the buildings around Whateley had been destroyed in the various battles of the war. The forests hadn’t fared too well either for that matter. It was good to see how everything would have looked if it wasn’t for the wars. Good, but strange.

It was these thoughts that started her thinking about Whateley itself. For a time, it had been her home. How noticeable would the changes be? Would she be even able to recognize it? After a few moments of worry, she calmed down. She was here now, she decided. She should, at least, give it a chance. After all, it wasn’t like she couldn’t try to find a better Whateley for herself. She’d just need a little time to search for one. These and other thoughts kept Fractal’s mind busy as she rode toward Whateley.

Pulling onto the private road for Whateley brought Fractal out of her thoughts. At first, she wasn’t sure they were approaching the school. But, after a careful examination, she realized that they were almost there. She started looking for the obvious and not so obvious defensive measures that should have been there. She couldn’t see a single one. She did spot some of the hidden detectors along the road, but that was it. She shuddered as if she just realized that this was not the place she remembered.

Mrs. Shugenda noticed her shudder. “Is everything alright,” she asked.

“I’m fine,” Fractal replied. “Just some memories.”

Mrs. Shugenda didn’t say anything to that. Over the years of escorting new students to Whateley, she has learned to let that subject drop. Not all memories were pleasant. They rode the rest of the way in silence.

* * *

Fractal lay on the bed in her room, stunned. The tour she had just finished left her mind whirling. The buildings were the same, yet they were different. Even worse than the private road, there was no fortifications. Other than the basic defenses, she couldn’t see any way to defend the school from an attack. What she had been told during the tour had to be true. The only way she could see that the school hadn’t been attacked yet was because the children of both superheroes and super villains came here.

Was the school really like this before the wars?

Before she could find an answer, there was a knock on her door. “Who is it,” she asked.

“Its Mrs. Horton,” came the answer. Fractal scrambled to her feet.

“There’s a security guard her for you,” the house mother continued. “Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble.”

Fractal opened the door and gasped. Standing beside Mrs. Horton was Hive! Fractal couldn’t help but stare at the seemingly young woman.

“Dear, is anything wrong?” Mrs. Horton asked as Fractal continued to stare.

“I think it’s me,” the young woman said. “Something about me, has shocked her.”

“You spoke normally,” gasped Fractal.

“Okay,” Everheart said slowly. “I was warned that you had some memory problems. I should have known that it wouldn’t be a simple thing like amnesia. This is Whateley after all.”

Mrs. Horton sighed. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. There’s still several rooms to check before the rest of the freshmen arrive.” She turned and walked away.

Fractal and the officer stared at each other. “So. Do you mind coming with me while you tell me why you’re staring,” Everheart eventually asked.

With a sigh, Fractal followed the seemingly young officer. As they walked, she told her what she requested.

* * *

Ayla walked down the hall. He wondered what he and his team mates had done over the summer break to have been called back to campus a couple days early. He had contacted Mrs. Carson and Chief Delarose after Sparkler had, somehow, escaped from prison and came after him. Then the demon had came back for revenge. The West Coast League had NOT been happy about that. Neither had he. The worst part was that he still didn’t know why all this was happening to him.

Not that Lieutenant Merrill, The West Coast League, or Mrs. Carson believed him. Although Doctor Arcturus did believe him. Even if he wanted to study him mystically to find out how he was attracting all the trouble. Arcturus did give him a worried look when he discovered that Ayla was studying magic under Circe. That only reminded him what Fey had told him concerning Circe last year. He seriously needed to step up his magical studies.

He finally arrived at the conference room the meeting was to take place. Pausing at the door, he could hear the voices of his teammates. He sighed. He hated being the last to arrive. Especially when he had no control over his tardiness. The MCO had been playing their games again. Either they still haven’t forgiven him for Christmas, or they’re holding the summer events against him. Either way, it didn’t speak well for him.

Ayla opened the door and entered the room. Inside, he saw all his team mates. Lancer, Chaka, Tennyo, Generator, Shroud, and Fey. Looking at Fey, Ayla felt his body freeze. He couldn’t believe he had forgotten how beautiful the young Sidhe woman was. With a slight shake, Ayla freed himself from the slight mesmerization.

As he entered the room, all the occupants turned to face him. “Phase,” cried Generator as she jumped up and ran to him. She gave him a fierce hug.

“Easy there,” Ayla said. “I need those ribs.”

“That’s our Generator,” Chaka said. “Energetic as ever.”

Tennyo rolled her eyes. “Could you even wait until she got to sit down?”

Generator ignored the comments as she stared at Ayla. “Guess what,” she said.

Ayla opened his mouth to reply but Generator rushed on.

“I’m ¾ of an inch taller and almost ½ inch bigger!”

Ayla stared blankly at the seemingly young girl. He could understand the comment about being taller. The one about being bigger? What was that about. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see a grinning Chaka make a cupping motion in front of her chest.

“Generator,” Ayla exclaimed. “That’s not something you just blurt out.”

“Why not,” Generator asked. “I can tell you’re bigger too,”

Ayla couldn’t stop the blush from flooding his face. He definitely did not want anybody to know that yet. But leave it to the breast obsessed girl to find that out.

“Generator,” Tennyo said. “You’re not supposed to say things like that. Especially in public.”

“Sorry, Oneesan,” the seemingly young girl apologized.

“It’s not me you need to apologize to. Phase’s the one you embarrassed.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Ayla said before Generator could say anything. “I’ve come to expect such things from you.”

“Hey!” Generator shouted indignantly as the rooms occupants laughed.

“I thought this was supposed to be a meeting,” a dulcet voice said from behind Ayla. “Not a party.”

Ayla turned to see a drop dead sexy redhead girl standing next to a beautiful Asian girl. She was a little shocked to see them standing near each other. Something must have changed over the summer as the last she remembered, they still hadn’t found out who was behind the murder attempts on Sara.

“Are you two supposed to be next to each other?”

“Relax Ayla,” the redheaded girl said. “Other than faculty, the only ones here are students who couldn’t go home for one reason or another. And with the way some secrets travel around here, I’m sure everybody already knows that Mrs. Carson called us all here for something.”

Ayla knew the demon princess had a point. Especially after all the action she and her team had seen this summer. But that didn’t mean she had to admit it. Especially since she suspected the reason they were there had something to do with her or her teammates. “Hopefully it’s not something we will regret,” Alya sighed. “We’ve had too many of those since we started classes last year.”

“When was their a time we didn’t regret being called into Mrs. Carson’s office,” Lancer asked.

“We have never regretted being called into her office,” Tennyo said.

“It would help if we could stop getting into fights both on and off campus,” Lancer said.

“Good luck with that,” Ayla said grumpily. “We’re trouble magnates.”

“We be bad,” Chaka said. Ayla couldn’t see what the hyper-active teen was doing to enable her to be still until now. “That’s why everybody wants to take us down.”

“Unlike some of us,” Ayla said while not looking at his team mate. “I don’t want to constantly get into fights. I have more important things to do.”

“Maybe it’s not that bad,” Generator said. “What’s the worst that could happen?” Everybody in the room stared at the seemingly young girl in shock.

“I can’t believe you just said that,” Fey said. “Are you trying to get us in trouble?”

“What,” Generator asked. “You know somebody was going to say it.”

“Nobody in this room should be saying such,” Bladedancer quietly said. “It provides to much temptation.”

There was a knock on the door.

to be continued.